MADRID, SPAIN

HEALTH PROMOTION AND DISEASE PREVENTION IN MADRID

The Alimentación, Actividad física y Salud (ALAS – Food, Physical Activity and Health) programme has been taking action to promote healthy living among Madrid’s citizens for nearly a decade. Established by Madrid Salud – the city government institution responsible for health promotion and disease prevention – the ALAS programme runs workshops to create awareness about how citizens can lead healthier lifestyles and reduce their risk of disease.

47%

OF ADULTS ARE OVERWEIGHT, AND 12.1% ARE LIVING WITH OBESITY48

CHANGING UNHEALTHY HABITS

The ALAS programme is aimed at reducing population body mass index – a significant health priority for the city, as many adults and children are overweight or living with obesity. The programme creates awareness about healthy food products and food labelling, the effect of nutrition and exercise on health, and the fact that unhealthy habits can be changed. The programme also promotes the use of cycle paths and the Walking People Project (supported by the European Commission), which provides 90 km across 18 walking routes in and around Madrid.

The strategy targets various sectors of society – families, communities, schools and businesses – but provides more intensive interventions for people deemed to be at higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes. These individuals are selected from hospitals, healthcare centres and other community activities to be part of the programme because they are prediabetic or overweight. The six-month therapeutic change workshop aims to reduce the risk factors for type 2 diabetes by helping participants acquire healthier habits and modify existing eating and exercise patterns.

ASSESSING THE EFFICACY OF ALAS

In 2018, Madrid Salud joined the Cities Changing Diabetes programme endorsed by the municipal government, Ayuntamiento de Madrid. The programme in Madrid focuses on assessing the efficacy of the ALAS initiative. Moving forward, the public–private partnership – a collaboration that is new to the city of Madrid – wants to include social and cultural determinants in the ALAS programme.

In close collaboration with the professionals from Madrid Salud and the APLICA Cooperative, the Cities Changing Diabetes project is involved in two key research activities: • A quantitative study to establish the statistics related to diabetes in the city • A study on the impacts of the interventions already put in place by the ALAS programme (a retrospective study for the period 2017–2019 and an ongoing study for the period 2019–2021).

An informal report based on the research already conducted with data collected from 1,629 people indicates that the ALAS interventions are working. An impressive 85% of the participants in the high-risk programme managed to lose weight, and 35% of the participants classified as prediabetic managed to normalise their blood sugar. Participants will be re-evaluated in 2020 to establish whether they have fewer risk factors for diabetes as a result of the programme.

IN MADRID 40.9%

OF CHILDREN BETWEEN THE AGES OF THREE AND 12 ARE OVERWEIGHT, OF WHICH 15.8% ARE LIVING WITH OBESITY49

LOCAL PROGRAMME PARTNERS

Key institutional partner: Ayuntamiento de Madrid

Collaborating partner: APLICA Cooperation

“In the city of Madrid, we're aware of the importance of addressing obesity and preventing type 2 diabetes to improve the quality of life of citizens. With this objective, we've been working for eight years through the Food, Physical Activity and Health programme to promote a healthy lifestyle and prevent these diseases. We believe that our participation in the Cities Changing Diabetes programme will boost our actions in this regard.”